A suggestion a day from the Williamsburg Regional Library

Rilla of Ingleside, by L.M. Montgomery

Yesterday I blogged on Anne of Green Gables, today I am looking at the eighth book in the series, Rilla of Ingleside. It was published in 1921, thirteen years after Anne of Green Gables in 1908. Some people say that L. M. Montgomery only wrote sequels to Anne of Green Gables because a contract with her publisher required it, and consequently the rest of the books aren’t as good. Perhaps none of the other books have the spark of Anne of Green Gables, but I think they have a charm of their own as they cover Anne’s growing and grown years, her marriage, the birth and childhood of her children. In this library they are all shelved in the children’s section, but I have certainly enjoyed them and gained much from them as an adult.

Rilla of Ingleside has the distinction of being one of the saddest fiction books I have ever read. It is set during World War I as Anne has become middle-aged and discovers a few grey hairs. Her children are grown or nearly grown with her youngest, Rilla, just turning fifteen. Because the Anne of Green Gables series was first written over a hundred years ago it is also historical fiction with an authenticity that modern books set in the past can only hope to match. The characters travel by horse and buggy because that is the only possibility. Marilla and Anne wash and dry the dishes by hand and then “scald” the dish-towels because there are no automatic washing machines lurking behind the scenes. Most importantly for Rilla of Ingleside, L. M. Montgomery lived through the exact events she described and probably based much of the book on diaries she kept at the time. These details give the book an immediacy that some historical fiction lacks. The women characters are busy with knitting socks, running Red Cross drives and rationing, while the men disappear off to war one by one, sometimes forever.

When we are looking back on the history of almost one hundred years ago, there seems an inevitability to it. Of course the Germans didn’t win WWI. Of course the war ran from 1914 to 1918 and of course the Americans entered the war in 1917. When L. M. Montgomery was a young mother in 1914 there was nothing inevitable about it. She was terrified that the Germans would win (what this would have meant for Canada is uncertain). The characters of Rilla of Ingleside wait with anticipation and often dread for the newspaper to arrive. One of the events recounted with horror is the Battle of Verdun in 1916. I had heard of this battle but was vague about the details. I looked it up online – a luxury Montgomery couldn’t imagine when they had to wait three or four days for printed news. I tried to put myself in their place and tried to imagine the unimaginable–that a battle was raging that caused almost 700,000 battlefield deaths. Such a thing had never happened before. The young men fighting and dying at Verdun were born in 1900 or earlier. Today in 2012 they would almost certainly be dead, but their suffering and early deaths still matter. Rilla and her family were also convinced that the war had to mean something important.

A minor character Mr. Meredith says of the war, “I think it is the price humanity must pay for some blessing–some advance great enough to be worth the price–which we may not live to see but which our children’s children will inherit. ” Now we are up to the children’s children’s children’s children, but I am not sure if we can claim that humanity has gained a great blessing from the slaughter of World War I. Rilla’s brother, Walter, challenges that “We must make it impossible for such things to happen again while the world lasts.” This book was written before the slaughter of World War II, so sadly, I think that Walter would consider that we have not lived up to his challenge.

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Recently, a pub I visited had a framed copy of the front page of a newspaper reporting that Adolf Hitler had suicided. It really struck me then how amazing it would have been to hear this news, to see it printed on the newspaper’s front page, and the feelings it would have stirred for the readers. Now, as you say, we think of the outcome of WWI or WWII as inevitable, but while you are living through it it doesn’t seem inevitable at all.
Thanks for your post, really interesting!

Just a comment about your definition of historical fiction. Rilla isn’t historical fiction just because it was written over 100 years ago. It was written about a time during the author’s lifetime, a time that is only a few years before it was written. Therefore, it is not considered historical fiction. Historical fiction is fiction that is written about a time in the past in reference to the time it was written, not in reference to the current time. I don’t think, for example, if I wrote a book about 2008, it would be considered historical fiction. As another example, Dickens’s books that are written about his own time are not considered historical fiction even though they are historical to us. But A Tale of Two Cities IS historical fiction because it takes place in a time 50-75 years earlier than it was written.

I read fiction to try to imagine what it would be like to be someone else. Fiction set in a real catastrophic event like WWI or WWII has another layer of imagining. What would it have been like to live through these wars, even at a distance, like the characters in Rilla of Ingleside or perhaps the people in your pub?

I have every book in the series. It was one of my favourite series when growing up, and I collected each book diligently. I cried so much when Walter when Walter died. It seemed so unfair.

If you have not seen the Anne of Green gables TV series, I suggest you do give that a watch. The story of the later books has been changed significantly, and in fact it shows Gilbert going into WWII, and not Walter, who went into WWI. But the TV series has its own charm.

I am happy to see I am not the only one who realizes what a gem this book is. I reread L.M. Montgomery often, and this one never fails to make me cry at the end. Sentimental maybe but Rilla of Ingleside deals with the women at home and the endless waiting to hear about loved ones. I once used a portion of it to teach WWI through literature and it went over very well. The Emily series are great for a more autobiographical glimpse into the struggles of being a woman and writer at the turn of the century and are very inspiring for those trying to decide if writing is worth it. Thanks!

Which TV series are you recommending? Our library seems to have an animated series and one from 1985, but I know there are more. It would certainly change the story if Gilbert went to war and not Walter.
Jan

Tracy
this book made me cry all the way through! Especially the bits about Dog Monday, for some reason. Although I previously read Rilla of Ingleside as an adult, I have now seen my own husband off to war which gives it a whole new perspective. I could identify with Anne in many ways, which perhaps shows that some things don’t change.
Jan

re:ramble
I like the Blue Castle, but not as much as The Secret Garden, which is my go-to book when I need a lift. My Children’s Literature professor at Library School told us that The Blue Castle was her mother’s favorite book, and all her siblings knew that if Mom was reading The Blue Castle, then it was time to behave!
Jan

I read Rilla of Ingleside when I was in college. I think then when I was young I didn’t have as much appreciation for these themes as I do now. You’ve inspired me experience this one anew! I’m on my way to Librivox.org now to download the audio. . . .

The Blythes are Quoted looks like an interesting book. Commenters on Amazon and other places say it is darker than her other books. It doesn’t look like it is easy to get here, but I may buy a personal copy so I can read it. Thank you for drawing my attention to the L.M. Montgomery Research Group – I know I can spend hours reading more about her works and her world!